After nearly two hours of public comment from dozens of speakers, the ACC Commission declared Athens a “safe haven” for the LGBTQ+ community in the face of national and state-level threats, particularly against the trans community.
The commission also voted in favor of a permanent concrete barrier protecting the bike lanes on Prince Avenue and for a new development of 60 cottages at 215 Shadybrook Drive. The commission delayed a decision about ranked choice voting until December 17.
Contents
LGBTQ+ safe haven resolution
Ranked choice voting resolution
Prince Avenue
215 Shadybrook Drive
LGBTQ+ “safe haven” resolution
Dozens of Athens residents (and even some from nearby towns like Nicholson) came out to support a resolution declaring Athens to be a “safe haven” for the LGBTQ+ community.
The resolution commits the local government to “creating a supportive environment where LGBTQIA+ individuals can live authentically and openly without fear.” It affirms the local government’s commitment to fight discrimination and support the mission of the ACC Human Relations Commission. It also encourages Athens law enforcement to undergo sensitivity training.
Finally, the resolution proclaims opposition to the anti-transgender and other anti-LGBTQ+ bills being introduced in the Georgia legislature.
“The current political climate…for many of us can feel frightening and uncertain,” Athens resident Lucy Loop told the commission. “As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I can tell you that, right now, we are living in a time when the safety and the rights of our community are under increasing threat. In many parts of this country, laws are being passed to attempt to erase us, limit our rights and make us feel that we do not belong…For my loved ones, it can be as though our very existence is under attack.”
“Three months after moving here, I was sexually assaulted by a stranger who called me diseased for being trans,” said Athens resident Thea Canby. “While reporting this assault to the police department…I was not only misgendered but treated as if I deserved what had happened…As someone who has suffered at the hands of your citizens and under the ignorance of your employees, I am telling you that you have not [made your support for the LGBTQ+ community] clear enough.”
Only one speaker out of several dozen opposed the resolution.
“My Father said He is the creator. He knows the difference between a man and a woman,” said former mayoral candidate Bennie Coleman. “So I do not support that at all. My answer to that is no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no and no to everyone here. You’re playing with something you can’t handle.”
The ACC Commission passed the resolution (as revised on November 26) in a 6-2 vote. Commissioners John Culpepper and Ovita Thornton voted in opposition. Commissioners Dexter Fisher and Tiffany Taylor were absent.
“I do want everybody to know that I embrace and accept everyone no matter their race, religion, sexual orientation or identity,” Culpepper said while explaining his no vote. “But I can’t support a resolution that focuses exclusively on just one community. I think we need to embrace all communities, not just one specific, so I can’t support this.”
“I just want to say that I admire the courage and the words and the passion that filled this room,” Thornton said. “I totally, totally get it…I just don’t do resolutions like this [anymore].”
Thornton said that she has had “bad experiences” with certain social justice resolutions in the past, specifically a 2019 resolution in support of the immigrant community among others she mentioned in a comment to APN.
Back in 2019, Thornton said that it was “very important” for her to make a statement of support for the Hispanic and immigrant community in Athens after the mass shooting in El Paso which was labeled an anti-Hispanic hate crime and an act of domestic terrorism by the FBI. Yet, after the murder of Laken Riley earlier this year, this resolution became politicized, with commissioners who supported it, including Thornton, being sharply criticized by members of the Athens GOP and other conservative organizations.
“I just have too many bad memories of resolutions that we’ve passed in the past, that we did not anticipate the collateral damage maybe one or two or three years later,” Thornton said.
Thornton has asked for future resolutions involving social justice to be vetted by a body such as the Athens Human Relations Commission so that the responsibility for making statements of support does not fall solely on the ACC Commission.
Commissioner Jesse Houle told their colleagues that their votes will be remembered.
“The way we stand with each other is to vote. Yes, that’s our job as elected officials to vote,” Houle said. “Whatever qualifying statements we make, they give people in the room some context perhaps, but it’s our votes that matter. It’s our votes that will be remembered by this community.”
Despite the two no votes, the resolution had strong support from most commissioners.
“[The LGBTQ+ community is] part of the reason I’m here [in Athens]. You’re part of the reason I love Athens,” said Commissioner Melissa Link. “I’m here for you. I’m 100% behind this. If we can do more, please let us know.”
“This is a yes, yes, yes, yes for me,” said Commissioner Patrick Davenport. “This resolution is just a statement from the body to say, hey, you know what? We recognize you. You have a place in this beautiful town.”
Former District 7 commission candidate and member of the LGBTQ+ community Allen Jones stood in the audience throughout the commission discussion.
After the commission voted in favor of the resolution, the audience burst into applause.
Ranked choice voting
The commission delayed a decision on a resolution in favor of ranked choice voting in a split 5-4 vote.
Ranked choice voting is a system that allows voters to select candidates in order of preference, rather than choosing only one to support. It’s often favored by third parties because it allows voters to choose a lesser-known presidential candidate, for example, without doing so at the expense of one of the major candidates.
Ranked choice voting also allows local governments to avoid costly runoff elections.
As noted by School Board member Tim Denson at Tuesday’s meeting, Athens spent roughly $30,000 for the June runoff election between School Board District 2 candidates Mary Bagby and Claudia Butts. 161 votes were cast in this election with nothing else on the ballot. Ranked choice voting would have allowed a much larger pool of voters to make the decision between Bagby and Butts during the election in May at no extra expense.
The resolution the commission is considering asks the state legislature to vote to allow local governments to adopt ranked choice voting for local elections when they convene the next legislative session in January. Currently, ranked choice voting is not permitted under state law.
While she says she supports ranked choice, Thornton proposed holding the vote on the resolution until December 17 so that commissioners could “do a little more research.” Among other pieces of information, Thornton wanted to clarify the financial impact of adopting ranked choice voting.
Thornton, Hamby, Wright and Culpepper voted in favor of Thornton’s motion to delay, resulting in a 4-4 split vote. Mayor Kelly Girtz broke the tie, siding with Thornton.
Girtz explained that the state legislature normally likes to see unanimous votes on local resolutions before they would consider taking action. After commissioners receive the additional information, it’s possible the body could vote unanimously in favor of this resolution on December 17, which would be in time to potentially make a difference in the 2025 state legislative session.
Prince Avenue
The commission voted unanimously in support of a concrete barrier protecting the bike lanes on Prince Avenue in addition to other improvements such as realigning the intersection at Prince and Pulaski Streets.
Dozens of community members came out again to support the changes as they did during the agenda-setting meeting last month. No one spoke against the improvements to Prince Avenue at either of these meetings.
“I want to thank everybody who worked so hard on this [over the decades], who participated in the pilot project and saw it get improved along the way and to finally get to this place after nearly 30 years of advocacy,” Link said. “Ever since I’ve lived in Athens, Prince Avenue has been a part of discussion. I look forward to many more generations being able to enjoy it.”
215 Shadybrook Drive
The commission approved a new development of 60 cottages at 215 Shadybrook Drive after being very close to outright rejecting the project in September.
Since the commission allowed the developer to withdraw their application in September instead of flatly denying it, they were able to make changes to the project and bring it forward again quickly. Among other changes, the developer agreed to a height restriction of 40 feet for the cottages and other structures, with a maximum of 60 residential units. They also agreed to certain roadway connections and easements desired by nearby residents and the ACC Commission.
“I think it was really a good example of a developer working very positively with the local area,” said Commissioner Carol Myers.
The commission voted unanimously in favor of the project.
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